Opposites Attract
by Athrun-chan
Summary: Karma and Kanzaki weren't exactly friends by any means despite the fact that they shared the same circle of friends. She wanted to stay out of trouble and he wanted to get into more trouble. What happens when Karma had nothing better to do than irked her off?
1. Chapter 1 : Valentine's Day

_**Author's Note :**_ _I love Assassination Classroom, especially Karma Akabane. Being in love with Killua Zoldyck (Hunter X Hunter) and Seijuro Akashi (Kuroko no Basuke), me having a thing for Karma shouldn't be that surprising (considering Karma is real badass in both jokes and fighting skills like Killua is and how he has red hair with slightly messed-up head, just like Akashi.). That being said, Yukiko Kanzaki is my favorite character in AC anime and it's really a shame that she doesn't get that much screen time._

 _ **Disclaimer :**_ _I only own the storyline._

* * *

 **Opposites Attract**

Yukiko Kazaki was the type of person that he had never been particularly close to. Something about her always ticked him off. Maybe because he's never a person who would care too much about what people think of him while she's the complete opposite of him. Even when she said she had changed, Karma thought that she's still being a complete goody-goody person. Either she hadn't changed or she's downright a person who's unable to do (or at the very least think of) something slightly horrible, he concluded.

"Ne, Kanzaki-san."

It was lunch break, and the room was soon filled with loud laughter from his classmates. Like usual, everybody was sitting with someone to eat their lunchbox, setting the nearest desks and chairs to accommodate them. He sat there on his seat with Nagisa sitting on his left and Yukiko sitting on his right. Kayano was, as always, sitting beside Nagisa while Sugino sat beside Yukiko and Okuda across him. Sugino was having argument with Kayano over the last episode of a TV show's that they both watched (Kayano smacked him a few times) and Nagisa and Okuda were both stammering and flustering trying to calm them down.

Yukiko turned to him, slightly surprised that he would talk to her. Despite being in the same circle of friends, they never really talked before. "Yes, Akabane-kun?"

"Some shrewed poet from class A was looking for you yesterday."

Judging from her unfazed face, Karma was pretty certain that they both had an idea of who that person might be. He didn't know the guy (he _did_ know that the said person was amongst Asano's underling as he saw him a couple of times from his peripheral view everytime he met Asano).

Yukiko just laughed uncomfortably before bowing her head slightly in embarrassment. "A—Ah, sorry about that.. He never knows when to quit.."

"Sugino could learn one or two from him." He commented to no one in particular, a little bit wanting to know how she would react. It's not like everyone hadn't known about the baseball player's little crush on her anyway.

But her complete lack of reaction put him off right away.

If anything, he was sure that she deliberately ignored his last comment when she instead asked about where he met Sakakibara ( _Oh, that's his name?_ ).

"I bumped into Asano and the rest of his gang after yesterday's opening ceremony. The guy was upset that he didn't get to see you." He twirled his rubber knife around his fingers,

Yukiko was about to apologize again when Karma leaned away on his seat. An ever-mocking smile was still present on his face. "Really, _Kanzaki-san._ " He emphasized her name with somewhat of a mocking tone that only he could pull off. "If you're bothered with it, you should have told him off. I never knew you'd enjoy that kind of public attention."

The others were still engrossed with Sugino vs Kayano argument so none of them noticed slight change of tension in the air between their group.

Yukiko stared at him like he grew two heads right then and there, mouth slightly opened. Karma's golden eyes were still locked on hers, albeit for different reason, mouth smirking. He was waiting if she would take the bait and lash off, something that would certainly make his day.

Yukiko was the one who broke the silence though, head slightly leaned to her right. And of course she _had_ toflash him that annoying smile of hers. "Why Akabane-kun, I never knew you care so much for my sake. I'm glad you consider me as your friend."

That was unexpected. "I don't."

"Then why?"

"I'm just bored." He still smirked. "You just happen to be there."

"Glad to make you entertained even for a while, then." With her soft smile that he's sure Sugino was willing to die for, Yukiko turned her head away from him and joined in the argument effortlessly, as if she's been listening on their bickering all this time

It's official.

He could never get along with people like her. Not only did she bore him off with her lack of reaction, her nature to stay calm as if his tauntings were nothing was unnerving.

They said Yukiko Kanzaki was this big-hearted girl who never had ill-intention but in his eyes, she was far more than that. If only she wanted to work on it, she could use her charm to enchant and seduce people. She was obviously nothing like Bitch-sensei or Yada-san, but she could still play the same card albeit different type of one.

Too bad she's too stupidly naive to use it for her own merits.

-o0o-

Yukiko was walking down the hall that evening. She had given Sugino and some of her classmates that she was closest with (namely Kayano, Okuda, and Nagisa) their share of Valentine chocolates when she saw Karma was walking toward her direction.

She never got annoyed by anyone, but if what she felt right now toward this certain classmate of hers could be called one, then it's her first time.

He slowed down, his mocking smirk was starting to grow, and that's when she knew this guy would start being unbearably teaser. For some reason, he seemed to like doing that to her in the past few weeks. "Ara, Kanzaki-san, fancy seeing you here. I see that you'd made Sugino's day today."

"Akabane-kun, happy Valentine to you too." She smiled, stopping to address him.

"He must be too ecstatic in receiving your chocolate that he didn't even realize yours was just a mere obligation chocolate." Karma mused.

"I wonder if that's the case." _Well yes,_ it is an obligation chocolate but she felt like agreeing with Karma Akabane even for once would make him act more unbearable around her so she decided to play along. "It's not like I keep it a secret from him or act in any way to make him thinks differently, though."

He sighed dramatically. "You're too cruel, Kanzaki-san. Keep this up and you'll make him commit suicide from frustration." He taunted her, expecting it to hit her somewhere this time. Death has never been easy for human beings, she was no exception.

She lowered her eyes, her face showed some degree of guilt with troubled faint smile plastered on it as she was suddenly hit with shame and realization that such a possibility _does_ indeed exist. "N—no way, everyone knows I'm not interested in dating someone right now..."

Does everyone really know? He doesn't.  
But then again, it's not like he was keeping himself up-to-date with the newest gossip and juicy stories of his class members' so it's possible that he might miss things.

Wanting to change the subject, Yukiko caught a glimpse of a chocolate box in his hand and seemed to be brightened up a bit by the sight of it. "Oh my, Okuda-san gave you a chocolate? How nice!"

"This? Nah, it's just her experimenting with some chemicals. She said she wanted me to try it on and let her know how it is." He lifted his hand that held the chocolate box.

She clasped her hands with pure happiness. "Still, Akabane-kun, I bet you must be ecstatic to receive it."

"Not as much as Sugino, that's for sure." He smirked, again, determined to steer this conversation to her. He knew what she was trying to do here and hell be damned if he let himself got beaten in his own game. "I mean, banging his own head against a tree just for a chocolate? Man, that's hardcore."

Yukiko laughed with uneasiness in her tone. He was going to mention how a certain shrewed poet would jump off the building if he knew that _the_ Yukiko Kanzaki gave a boy her homemade chocolate when he saw him rummaging through her bag, looking for something.

"Here, you can take this if you want to." She held an item in her right hand and extended it to him so that he could take a look of it.

"Ho, another obligation chocolate?" he eyed the perfectly wrapped chocolate box, _so very Yukiko Kanzaki,_ he thought. "Can I ask why? We both know I'm the least person you like." He still accepted the chocolate though. _Might as well need this if Okuda's went wrong,_ he reasoned.

She looked at the ceiling for a while, as if really pondering the question, before looking at him with her famous soft smile. "Let's just say you're the only person with whom I feel differently towards."

He knew what she _clearly_ meant but he still couldn't help himself from teasing her. "Ara, Kanzaki-san, Sugino will _definitely_ kill himself if he hears it, you know."

"He won't, the feeling is in a bad way."she countered, still with the smile. To some people who didn't know any better, it's as if she was merely complimenting him.

Karma laughed a little, clearly amused that she's not as kind-hearted as people would think. Her declaration that she had harbored some kind of annoyed feeling (or whatever bad feelings she was talking about) proved it. "Alright then, am I supposed to bang my head to the wall now?"

"That would be great, though I doubt it'll hurt you much,"

Even when she's annoyed, he noted that she still managed to laugh gracefully with one of her hands covered her mouth. _Always the perfect manner,_ Karma smirked.

"Does Sugino know not only you're a masochist, you're such a sadist too, Kanzaki-san?"

"Akabane-kun, I _honestly_ hope Okuda's chocolate chokes you out. "

They both laughed in unison.

By now, every class E students who were originally in class already stuck their heads out of the window, obviously wondering when and where their devil Karma and Class E madonna got along really well.

"Whoa, I never knew they're such good friends before..." Isogai mused out loud, watching the red-haired man and the raven-haired girl's interraction.

Sugino pumped his fist up, feeling proud for some reason. "Well duh, class rep, it's Kanzaki-san we're talking about here! Who wouldn't get along with _her_?"

"Err, I don't know about you, but I feel like there's something really, _really_ wrong with this scene.." Maehara scratched his head, feeling weird watching how Karma, of all people, and Kanzaki laughed together but he couldn't pinpoint where exactly things went wrong.

If only they knew that Maehara was right for once.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note :_** _There you go! I'm not sure if I did it well since this is the first time I make an Assassination Classroom fanfic. Please let me know how I did, even if you just want to flame me for getting my characters' personality and behavior wrong. I'm not sure if I should continue it or just make it a oneshot so tell me what you think as well! :)_


	2. Chapter 2 : White Day

_**Author's Note :**_ _I'm quite surprised at how many people other than me who are interested with this completely new pairing. Aside from how beautiful these characters are together (even the girls admitted that Karma would be up there amongst the hottest classmates if not for his violence tendency, and we all know almost all the boys admitted that Yukiko Kanzaki is certainly attractive in their class), I'll tell you more about why to me, this pairing is simply the best and most logical pairing, be it in anime-universe or real life, possibly in the next chapter._

 _ **Disclaimer :**_ _I only own the storyline._ _If the anime were up to me, I'd totally hook these 2 couple up right from the start._

* * *

 **Opposites Attract**

Karma Akabane was a very perceptive guy. He might not look like it, but he was more observant than anyone could possibly give him credit for. There were times when he preferred to stay on the sideline and just paid attention to what's going on from outside the conversation. Blame his playful smirk as the reason why everyone else couldn't take him seriously, but to his defense, he actually considered that trait of his as a plus since it made him able to observe everyone with more…. subtle.

For starter, he knew that Kayano had had a crush for a certain blunette since…. Well, forever ago. Possibly since the first time she got assigned to this class.

Then he knew that Nakamura Rio, despite being his partner in crime regarding playing pranks to their classmates and especially making fun of Kayano and Nagisa's (lack of) relationship progress, wasn't exactly as dumb as she made everyone believed her to be. He suspected that she wanted everyone to believe how she's the stereotypical dumb blonde because like him, she hid behind her playful laughs and pranks. Koro-sensei must have known about it, for he didn't look that surprised when she came out as the smartest girl in this class for her highscores in many mock-up exams conducted by the teacher, with Yukiko Kanzaki following behind.

Talking about Yukiko Kanzaki…..

He didn't even know where to begin with. He observed her like he did with everyone else, but it seemed that she didn't have anything nasty to hide. He thought her being a gamer was it, but that was just merely a hobby and not her characteristic. It was better than nothing, sure, but it wasn't enough. Everything about her just seemed terribly fake that he couldn't see past it.

Yukiko Kanzaki was the very epitome of girl who hid behind her perfect charade. Similar to Isogai, he supposed, as they were both quite famous even in the main campus for their near-perfection. They both had fans swooning over them, for God's sake. She's got great looks _(yes, he wasn't blind)_ , good grades, perfect manner, and he bet she could sew almost as good as her cooking skill. Her hand-made chocolate was, surprisingly, to his liking. It didn't taste like any chocolates sold in convenience stores that he had tasted before. He remembered almost spitting it out for he couldn't believe that chocolate as good as hers was only the result of social obligation. _'Obligation my ass!'_ he swallowed the chocolate bar with frustration, gripping his hand tightly, holding it from throwing the item out. The logical part of him tried to reason with ' _Ugh, her indirect arrogance is sickening, but this chocolate is a good stuff and it's a shame if I throw it away.'_ In the end, he grudgingly ate all of it.

That still didn't make him despised her less, though.

But he wasn't fooled. Just because she _seemed_ perfect didn't mean that she was.

Everyone had a nasty side of theirs, and she wasn't an exception.

-o0o-

Karma was walking down the shopping district to school when he randomly noticed that there were more couples filling up the street than usual. He usually wouldn't notice, but since the usually quiet district was crowded at such an early time, it was a given that his interest was perked up.

He checked his watch, glancing at the date.

 _March 14_ _th_ _._

He furrowed his eyebrows, mentally trying to remember what usually happens on this particular day, before a realization hit him. _'Oh, it's just White Day.'_ Karma scoffed before continuing his walk. School was still a good 15 minutes away from this point, but considering on how unexpectedly crowded this district was, he guessed he needed to quicken up his pace to get there on time.

-o0o-

Karma arrived to the class 5 minutes before the first class started. After sitting on his seat, he put his palm on the right side of his head. He was about to start his routine (observing his friends) when Sugino, Maehara, and Isogai entered the classroom from the door near him, talking to each other loudly. Normally, he would tune out their ramblings as he couldn't stand such noise this early, but a certain topic got his interest.

"So what chocolate are you gonna get for Kanzaki-san, Sugino?" Maehara smirked, leaning on the door.

"E-EH?!" Sugino was, as usual, flabbergasted with such idea.

"Dude, today is White Day. She gave you a chocolate on Valentine's Day right?"

Sugino let out a strangled voice, and even without him looking at the poor boy's face, Karma could guess that his face must have reddened uncontrollably like a ripe tomato.

"Y—You and Isogai also got chocolates too! What about you guys?" Sugino changed the subject quickly.

Maehara sighed dramatically, putting both of his hands behind his head while starting to walk to his seat. "Man, now that you remind me, I got chocolates from a lot of girls, but there's no way I can give each and every one of them a chocolate."

Isogai gave him a patronizing look as if scolding him. "That's incredibly rude of you, Maehara."

"Then what about you, Isogai?"

"Oh I already bought some extra big chocolate packs since they were on huge sale a few days after the Valentine's Day. My siblings happen to like chocolates a lot, and there're still some packs left unopened. This way, all the girls who gave me chocolate can get something in return." The class rep answered earnestly with a big smile, as if it's an obvious answer.

"You can't do that, it has to be two or three times the worth of the Valentine's Day's gifts!"

Their next conversation was already out of his earshot, or maybe it's because he stopped listening, but in any way, Karma couldn't bring himself to care. He looked at the back of a certain raven-haired girl's who sat neatly on her seat, listening to Kayano's chirpy squeal and whines, nodding a few times when necessary, when an unexpected voice came up from within him.

 _Should he give her anything in return for the chocolate?_

As soon as the thought came up, he mentally slapped himself up for even thinking about such a ridiculous thought. Karma Akabane _never_ gave anything to anyone, let alone a girl, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

 _But it doesn't have to be a chocolate. In fact, it should never be a chocolate or anything serious._

Now he's listening to his own self. That's right, whoever said it _should_ be a chocolate or expensive gifts, deserved to be shot.

Karma then looked around the classroom, before his gaze fell on a two-braided girl with glasses who was currently rummaging through her bag to prepare for her utensils. He stood up, then with his long strides, he got to her desk in no time at all.

"Okuda." He called out, startling her in process.

"H—hai!" she let out a squeak, before relaxing a bit when she saw that it's him. "Akabane-kun? Wh—what happened?"

"Remember the chocolate that you gave me a while ago?"

For no apparent reason, now she's blushing. She was about to open her mouth when Karma interrupted her. "It's barely edible, but it's fine. I still ate the whole thing though. However, I think it's going to give more kicks if you'd just add…."

He wrote down some formulas on one of her books' blank pages, before setting down the pencil and giving her the now fully-filled paper. "Good luck on your next chocolate." He gave a little wave to her, before going back to his own seat.

First girl : done.

Now, on to the next (and last) girl.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note :**_ _Isn't it a wonder that the some of the smartest folks in Class-E were generally good-looking students like Karma Akabane, Yuma Isogai, Nakamura Rio and Yukiko Kanzaki? Karma, Isogai, and Yukiko are universally accepted as a beauty here, and I always thought that Rio was quite a catch herself because… well because she's blonde (Japan usually makes their popular girl/boy has blonde/light-coloured hair for some unknown reasons). Anyway, continuing what I was talking about, Assassination Classroom is truly different with other Animes because in here, they didn't make the girl and boy with glasses as the smartest students, and I appreciate that. It's getting old. Not all people who wear glasses are smart, and not all people gifted with good-looks are dumb._

 _Tell me what you think of this chapter. You're free to flame me as long as it's constructive, and don't hesitate to send me a PM about your opinions! Oh, and please_ _ **Review AND hit the fav button**_ _, for I'd like to have this story read by as many people as possible. KarmaxYukiko_ _shippers **do** exist!_


	3. Chapter 3 : A quick detour

_**Author's Note :**_ _I love reading reviews, as it's the only way for me to know whether what I write makes someone's day, so I really hope more of you would send me one or 2 reviews._

 _ **Disclaimer :**_ _I only own the storyline, sadly._

* * *

 **Opposites Attract**

By the end of second break of that same day, when she's done eating lunch with the rest of the girls sitting around her desk, he found himself walking toward her.

Yukiko was shutting the lid of her lunchbox off and was about to wrap it back with her large handkerchief when she noticed a figure sitting on a desk right in front of her, facing her.  
"Kanzaki-san." She heard him greeting her with that uninterested tone he always gave to people other than Nagisa or Kayano.

"Ah, good afternoon, Akabane-kun. How are you doing today?"

"As bored as usual, but I figure you must have known that." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes now. Kanzaki's attempt for pleasant conversations was getting on his nerves.

She just smiled in reply.

Karma cleared his throat, gaining her attention in the process. "Anyway, can you meet me down the hill after school? I have some place to go that I need you to come with me."

Now she's curious. _What place could it possibly be that Karma Akabane wanted her, of all people, to come?_

When she hadn't answered, Karma quirked his eyebrows to show that he expected an answer right now. That, and his growing irritation.

"Sorry, I was just surprised. This is quite unexpected…" she trailed off, lowering her head down to put her lunchbox back to her bag before looking up to him again. "May I ask where?"

"No."

Naturally, the cynical side of her was suspicious of him, but then she brushed it off. _'It's Akabane-kun for God's sake! If anyone in this class has to fight, he'd be one of the best.'_

"Very well. I don't know where you're going with this invitation, but I'll have you know that I trust you." She told him firmly, golden eyes piercing into his. The sudden hard tone amused him.

 _Did she just try to look a bit tougher?_

He brushed the thought off before tsk-ed her, feeling a bit bothered for knowing that she didn't fully trust him. He was many things, but she should have known that he never endangered his friends. _'Besides, has she forgotten that I'm the one who fought those highschool punks for kidnapping her and Kayano? Unbelievable.'_ He could feel the corner of his eyes twitched as he restrained himself for not mentioning it to her. As a reply, he just made a curt nod, signalling that he heard her, before getting up and walking back to his own desk.

He spent the rest of the day feeling bored, with occasional attempts in slicing Koro-sensei when he's within his reach.

-o0o-

"Eeh, you're not walking home with us?" Kayano's high-pitched voice made Karma glanced at the group of the girls standing around Yukiko's desk.

Yukiko, who was putting her stuffs inside her bag, flashed the girls an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I have to make a detour along the way. You guys go ahead and have fun,"

The girls aww-ed at her reply, and that's the last thing Karma heard before he walked out of the room and head to the main campus' entrance, the one before it branched to the path to Class E building.

-o0o-

He was standing for a good 10 minutes, smirking the main campus' losers who had the nerve to _actually_ look down on him, when he noticed her slender form walking down towards him. He made no move to greet her though.

It wasn't when she's within his arm-length that he straightened his posture.

"I'm sorry, did I make you wait long? It took quite a while for the girls to go ahead first.." Karma could detect slight guilt in her melancholy soft voice.

"Yeah, I noticed. I waved them goodbye when I was waiting here a few minutes ago." He nodded at her to signal her that it's alright, before he started walking down the road. Yukiko immediately followed him, falling into steps a little bit behind him. Not that far behind as if she was cowering in fear, but not exactly beside him too.

They're walking down for a few minutes when he found himself asking, "Why did you tell them to go ahead first?"

Yukiko tilted her head sideways, as if the answer was obvious. "Wouldn't you prefer it that way?"

"I could care less either way. I was just curious on why you did what you did." He shrugged.

"Ah…" she lost her words before she spoke again sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it to be a secret."

He turned to her in questioning manner, signalling her to elaborate.

"Well, for starter, I thought you wouldn't want to be seen with me.."

He unconsciously scoffed rather loudly, alarming her. "You _really_ should stop worrying over how others see you."

"I'm sorry for taking your reputation and your well-being into consideration." Her voice was getting hardened, and even without him looking at her, he suspected she was becoming more upset at him by each second.

"Well stop that. It doesn't do you any favors." He replied nonchalantly, clearly not caring whether his words would upset her more or not.

That successfully stopped her in her tracks.

He fully turned to her now, and he saw her standing as tall as ever, her face showed complete distraught. Gone was the usual gentle Yukiko Kanzaki with unbelievable calming presence whom he's annoyed so much.

"What are _we_ doing here, Akabane-kun? It's only been a few minutes and we're already fighting."

"I'm just stating the facts." Karma looked at her sharply. "And you know I'm right. The fact that you've been apologizing to me 3 times in a _freaking_ few minutes is a proof of that."

With that, he continued walking down the road, with an unexplainable certainly that she would still come along despite the harsh words that he had said.

 _Because deep down, he knew she realized how much it was true._

A good 10 steps later, he didn't need to look back to know that she _did_ follow him, her steps fell silently into his.

None of them spoke again.

-o0o-

They were on board of the train, with her sitting and him standing near her, his arm held the holder above, when she decided to break the tension.

"You didn't have to be so harsh, Akabane-kun." she looked at him pointedly.

"I'm not going to say sorry if that's what you want to hear."

"….. Good thing I didn't expect any." She flashed him a bitter smile before she turned her head to the window behind her, content with watching the view from inside the train for now.

Hearing that, he lifted one of his eyebrows as a response, before thinking better against it and looked toward the same window that was in front of him.

-o0o-

"Wait a minute, Akabane-kun. Isn't this place…."

Karma smirked. "It's a familiar place for you, I'm sure?"

She glared at him _(it wasn't very much a glare as it's not exactly threatening, but he assumed it's the best she could do)_ , but he ignored her and started to walk ahead.

When he stopped in front of that one place she recognized so much, she looked at him sharply as if she demanded an immediate answer to her unvoiced question. He fished some things from the back of his pocket, before showing her quite a lot of small-sized papers.

"Yukiko Kanzaki, I want you to help me spend these gaming coupons."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note :**_ _What do you think? This has been on my mind since the very first time I saw Karma, then Yukiko. Of all boys in Class E, if I were to pick one who looked like a fan of game, I would definitely go for Karma due to his playful traits and his tendency to look for something fun. And we all know how much love Yukiko Kanzaki has for games. If they indeed have something in common, it would be through games (arcade or console)._

Anyway, a question though. What do you think of the witty Yukiko Kanzaki that I portrayed here? I figure she couldn't possibly act princess-like all the time when it came to dealing with a human-being namely Karma Akabane, so there's that. Do you think it's too OOC for her? Tell me what you think, as it will possibly affect the whole story!

 _Stay tuned to the story, please!_


	4. Chapter 4 : There'll always be next time

_**Author's Note :**_ _Thank you for those who have given me your inputs. I'm glad the Kanzaki Yukiko in this story isn't OOC. As the story progresses, do feel free to keep giving me your opinions._

 _Stay tuned, and if you like it, don't forget to_ _Review_ _and hit that_ _Fav_ _button!_

 _ **Disclaimer :**_ _As much as I would like it otherwise, I only own the storyline._

* * *

 **Opposites Attract**

Yukiko looked at him incredulously. _Surely he knows this kind of place was exactly the reason why she went through the trouble during their assassination trip?_

Ignoring the look that she gave him, he brushed past her. "Come on. I can't possibly spend all of them alone, these tickets are only valid within this week!"

She heard him loud and clear, but she still hesitated. Her frequent visits to this place was the reason why she was kidnapped. Granted, she disguised herself as someone else but still…

But Karma was already out of sight, so she reluctantly went after him.

-o0o-

Karma was already talking to the staff at the registry table when he turned to her. His knowing smirk indicated that he already bet that she would still come in and honestly, she wanted to wipe it off his face.

The male staff (she recognized him from her last visit many months ago) was surprised when he saw her but quickly recovered and ushered them inside with greeting.

Karma lead the way, humming over what games they'd be playing first, while Yukiko just kept her eyes on the floor.

When Karma seemed to have settled on one machine, he sat down and Yukiko followed shortly after.

He was inserting some coins into the machine, eyes glued to the screen. It's obvious that he didn't have any intention to explain anything to her.

"…Why did you bring me here?" she finally asked, eyes darted off to right and left.

"I don't know. I just feel like it."

She was silent for a minute, before she opened her mouth to speak again. "I was… Kayano and I were kidnapped because of me…."

"It was a piece of cake, but of course you have to make it sounds like it's a big deal." He rolled his eyes.

Yukiko looked at him incredulously. "You were punched on the head. Repeatedly."

For some reason, now he was glaring at the screen.

"It was _nothing_." He gritted his teeth.

"You're still knocked-out, Kayano and I were still on the verge of being God knows what they'd do if you guys didn't come—"

"We did, so it's over." He turned from the machine screen to her now, eyes sta. "It's over. Stop mulling over it. Now can we _just_ play already?" Karma said before turning again to the big machine in front of them.

Yukiko sighed, before putting down her school bag that she had unconsciously been holding on her lap to the floor.

And that's how the two spent the evening.

-o0o-

"… I can't believe I lost again." He muttered, glaring at the bright red 'Game Over' writing flashed on his screen. Yukiko just smiled apologetically in response.

During playing, with eyes glued to their respective screens, they didn't speak that much but strangely, silence had never been this comfortable to Yukiko. Considering how clashed both of their personalities were and the fact that they hadn't exactly been friends, she honestly had expected the otherwise.

She glanced at her wristwatch, eyes widening when she saw the time. "Oh no, I need to go home now." She turned to him and winced when she saw just how many of the coupons still left. "I'm sorry Akabane-kun, it's very nice of you to invite me here, but I need to get going…"

"I'll walk you home."

"It's alright. It's not that dark yet, and besides, isn't your house on the other side of the city?"

"I have some things to take care of in that part of the city anyway." He stood up. Grabbing the coupons and put them back into his pant pocket, he slung his bag on his shoulder before he walked ahead of her.

Yukiko was completely stunned by now, but she shook it off and followed him anyway.

She reminded herself that it's no use of trying to understand Karma Akabane's action.

-o0o-

They were passing down the street to train station when Karma cleared his throat, effectively catching Yukiko's attention.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Eh?"

"I lost, probably a hundred times already today."

"I wasn't aware that whoever loses has to treat the other for food?"

"I'm hungry."

Yukiko stifled her laugh with the back of her hand. "Alright, sure." She looked around the street, noticing that there were plenty of foodstalls nearby. "Taiyaki would be nice."

"Are you on some kind of diet or what? Taiyaki is snack, not dinner." Karma scoffed, but he still made his way to one of taiyaki's vendor.

Yukiko's face turned red. "Akabane-kun you're unbelievable…!" she grumbled. "You really shouldn't ask that to a girl."

He shrugged. "Taiyaki is _still_ not a dinner."

By now, Yukiko had caught up to him, now standing right beside him. "One red-bean paste please," she spoke to the vendor.

"Make it two, Oyaji."

"Two red-bean paste taiyakis, coming right up!" the old man repeated. He then gestured the two teenagers to nearby bench to wait.

-o0o-

They were sitting on the said bench, waiting for their orders to be ready. Karma's legs were splayed out, arms stretched back, eyes staring at the darkened sky above them. Yukiko folded her hands on her lap, schoolbag rested near her feet neatly. After a few moments of total silence, she turned to Karma to address him.

"Sorry you have to eat taiyaki too, Akabane-kun. Had I known that you'd eat the same thing, I'd choose something heavier to eat."

"There's next time." He simply replied.

She smiled warmly, remembering the long gaming coupons they still had to use. "Yes, I guess you're right. There will always be next time.." Yukiko spoke softly, looking up to stare at the same dark sky that Karma stared at just now.

Karma sneaked a glance at her for a few short seconds before he looked at his own watch, "Let's go. I bet our orders are already done by now."

Following Karma, she got up from her seat and picked up her schoolbag.

Karma was right. By the time they arrived right in front of the taiyaki vendor, two hot taiyakis wrapped in two small paper bags were already served.

After putting some cash on the table, Karma just picked up the hot item with his bare right hand and was about to lead the way toward the train station when he noticed Yukiko rummaging through her schoolbag. He watched her, slightly curious of what she's doing and was about to ask what she's looking for when she pulled up a napkin from her bag with triumphant smile. Carefully, Karma saw how Yukiko delicately wrapped the hot taiyaki with her napkin.

He sighed, though he found himself smiled a bit. ' _Always the perfect manner',_ he scowled half-heartedly.

Still having her eyes on the now napkin-wrapped taiyaki, Yukiko walked to his direction. "Akabane-kun, I have another napkin if you want—"

"No thanks." He waved it off, started walking toward the train station. "Watching you paying that much attention to the _fragile_ taiyaki is painful already."

"Well sorry but we've still got a long way to go home…" She was embarrassed now, she didn't think Karma was watching her the whole time.

"Yeah, yeah."

-o0o-

The train was quite crowded.

Yukiko was lucky enough to get a seat, but Karma said he preferred to stand instead.

Now that Yukiko had sat down, she had plenty of time to pay attention to her surroundings. People were coming home from work, lovers were out to have good night date, students were on their way to go home from supplementary lessons.

She was about to lean back and relaxed a bit when she looked up and saw Karma had this alert look on his face.

"Akabane-kun, is something wrong?"

Karma looked down, meeting her concerned gaze before looking away. "… No. I just hate crowded train. Too many blind spots, too many people to look out for."

She slowly nodded, although she didn't understand why Karma had to constantly be on-guard.

"Don't fall asleep."

"I won't!" She hissed, face was as bright as a ripe tomato. In class, she silently hated it every time Karma was being patronizing toward their classmates. This time was no different. She expected Karma to have this smirk and know-it-all expression, but when she spared a glance at him, his eyes weren't even on her.

He was still looking around warily, almost like he expected something horrible popped up. Yukiko almost asked him what seemed to be the trouble, but upon realizing that he probably wouldn't answer her like usual, she stopped herself.

She sat back and just enjoyed the view from the window behind her and soon, they almost reached her stop.

Yukiko carefully got up, making her way to the train door while muttering soft apologies to people she accidentally bumped into.

Now she's standing right in front of the door. A minute later, from the door's glass reflection, she saw Karma came up and stood behind her. With his left hand holding his taiyaki and his schoolbag, he used his other hand to hold onto one of the poles to keep himself steady.

"Kanzaki-san." He called out in low voice.

Yukiko turned to him slightly, as much as the space could give her, her wondering eyes were enough to signal Karma to continue whatever he's about to say.

"You owe me big time now." There it was, his little smirk.

"What for?" she quirked one of her eyebrows up, her tone was getting defensive. She _truly_ hated that smirk.

"I think it's safe to say that my presence here has successfully scared away some….unwanted attention." He pointedly glanced to his right, toward some highschool guys who hastily turned their heads away from their direction.

She laughed. "But Akabane-kun, I wouldn't get on the train this late were it not for your invitation."

Karma scowled. She got him there.

-o0o-

After getting out of the train station, she insisted that Karma didn't have to walk her home because it's already close, but he didn't buy it. Before she could utter another protest, Karma had walked forward, loudly telling her to just start leading the way.

10 minutes walking and analysing the area, Karma found that Yukiko lived in a pretty nice neighbourhood. There were a lot of big traditional houses, a rather spacious flower garden open to the public... _How very typical of her, living in this kind of neighbourhood,_ he almost chuckled to himself. He was snapped from his own thought when Yukiko, who walked a few strides ahead of him, stopped. "This is my house. Thank you for walking me home, Akabane-kun."

"… I'll be going now." He was about to turn around when he heard her spoke softly.

"Thank you for the taiyaki, I had a really good time today." She smiled, lifting her half-eaten taiyaki. "Please have a safe trip home."

He stared at her retreating back, before he too turned to the direction where they walked from and started walking.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note :**_ _There you go. Sorry for the long delay, I graduated from uni a while ago, things were hectic before and after that._

 _Anyway, I'd very appreciate it if you guys can tell me what you think on this new chapter in Review section. You have no idea how much reading your reviews meant for me. Of course, if you have any suggestion on where the story should go from now, feel free to also tell me that in review/PM section._

 _Hit the "Fav" button and stay tuned to the story!_


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